Hay and straw cutter



- J. D. FELTHOUSEN.

Straw Cutter.

No. 30,056. PatentedSept. 18, 1860.

PETERS. PIolo-Lmaxvphen washington, D. ;L

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB D. FELTHOUSEN, OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA.

HAY AND STRAW CUTTER.

Specfication of Letters Patent No. 30,056, dated September 18, 1860.

To all whom 'it 'may concer'r:

Be it known that I, J ACOB D. FELTHOUSEN, of Michigan City, in the county of Laporte and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay and Straw Cutters, and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the principle or character which distinguishes them from all other things before known and the usual manner of making and using the same reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

The nature of my invention consists in making my machine so as to feed itself at all times while in operation without regard to the quantity of material to be cut and regulating the length of the feed or cut to any desired length and also cutting the same of a uniform length during the will of the operator which is done by means of the inside box A with its movable lid B having a lever C on top and operated by the rock shaft D and regulated by the set screw F in the stirrup G at the top of the gate E with the assistance of the spring pad or holder H and the knives I as described hereafter.

To enable others skilled in the art to make use of my invention I will proceed to describe its Construction and operation.

I construct the frame in any of the ordinary and known forms, with two upright standards in front having a gate working up and down between them to attach the knives to. The gate E is moved up and down by a crank motion by means of a pitman. The box is made about 10 inches wide and 10 nches deep and is of a uniform width. Inside of this box is the movable sheet iron or other metallic box,A,havinga movable lid, B, made of iron or other material, hung on a joint so as to move up and down inside of the metallic box A. On the top of the lid B is a lever C to which is attached a connecting rod which is attached to the rock shaft D, at the other end. This rock shaft D is operated by the motion of the gate E and the set screw F, in the stirrup G on top of the gate E, so that when the gate E moves up the rock shaft D draws on the lever C 'at the top of the lid B and presses it down on the straw, and at the same time draws the metallic box A with its lid B forward and consequently the straw in it under the knives ready to be cut by the knives clownward motion. When the gate E moves down the rock shaft D and its connection push back on the lever C and raise the lid B and release its pressure entirely from the straw and at the same time move the inside metallic box A and its lid B back around the straw ready to again feed forward. p Immediately back of the gate E there is a spiral spring pressure pad or holder H for holding the straw while being cut and preventing it from either moving back by the motion of the iron box, A, or sidewise by the shear cut of the knives I I. This pad or holder H is made of two iron rods fastened in a piece of metal and fitting the space in the box and working up and down on the straw through guides for that purpose. Around these two iron rods there is two spiral springs which at all times press the pad or holder H down on the straw while the gate E is down but are raised from it by the upward motion of the gate E, which has a cam or screw attached to the back part of it for that purpose.

The pad or holder H has on its front side saw teeth with the points of the teeth standing from the center to either side of the box. The object of these teeth is to prevent the straw or material to be cut from being pressed to the center of the box by the shear cut of the knives I, and making the resistance of the straw uniform during the operation of cutting. Directly back is the rock shaft D which has an arm projecting over the gate E and in or through a stirrup which is fastened to the upper partof the gate E. In the top of this stirrup G is the set screw, F by turning which you can make the motion of the arm to the rock shaft D more or less and consequently the motion of the inside metallic box A to which it is at tached by means of a connecting rod and the lid B, and the lever C, and thereby the length of the feed or cut of the straw or hay, which it, the iron box, A carries under the knives I which can be cut thereby any length the person Operating the same may desire. The arn of the rock shaft D has also two holes, to attach the connecting rod to which moves the lid so that the length of the feed can also be changed by that means in conjunction with the set screw F should the set screw not alter it enough.

The knives, I, are made in two pieces and when put together form what is commonly called the A or V knife. They are screwed on the back side of the gate E with their bevel edges out so as to leave a fiat surface on the back side which press against a metal lining to the box and by that means have a shear cut on the straw. The object of making this A knife in two parts is to enable the person using it to more easily grind or sharpen it in the corner by taking it from the gate E, which it is impossible to do in the old A knife.

This machine can be operated either by hand power by means of a crank or other power by means of a pulley according to the size of the machines and the quantity of feed to be cut.

Having thus fully described my improvements what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is- 1. The rock shaft D in combination with the stirrup G, and set screw F, at the top of the gate, for the purposes substantially as herein set forth.

2. The spring pressure pad or holder H, with teeth on its lower side, inclining each way from the center to the side of the box in combination with the knives I, I, substantially as herein described and for the purposes indicated.

JACOB D. FELTHOUSEN. Wtnesses:

WM( WOODBRIDG I. A. THORNTON. 

